While technology is a necessity for a trader today, the risk of system failure is something that we will always face. The main difference between brokers will be in how they prepare themselves for when it happens. Brokers who put the right amount of investment into disaster recovery planning and training staff to handle unexpected changes in the market are able to maintain business continuity.

When a broker attempts to cut corners either with technology or in operations to save some money now, they are actually taking on more risk in the long run. Problems with order execution, or outages resulting from insufficient backup systems can damage a broker’s credibility.

In the current fast-paced trading environment, brokers must prepare for unexpected events. Those brokers who take operational resilience seriously will benefit their clients by maintaining their customer trust. Brokers who do not take these steps will struggle as their systems undergo unforeseen stress testing.